Fire-escape



(No Model.)

M. C. CORRIGAN.

PIRE ESAPE.

gaf/7a, l @ZM/M N. FKTEHS, Phmumwipnu. washing D. c

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Unirse Sfrrrrns vw fr rainer l FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATEON forming part of Letters Patent No. 300,347, dated June 17, 1884.

Application filed April 7, 1984. (No model.)

'lo (mi rolt/)711, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW C. Connionn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hollyrood, in the county of Ellsworth and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reversible Fire Escapes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and iigures ol reference marked thereon.

Previous to my invention it was connnon to provide reversible and portable tire-escapes with a suitable frame grooved upon its inner sides to receive boxes adapted to have a recip. rocating motion therein, and having journaled in said boxes rubber or other flexible rollers, between which the belt passed,and at the ends of the frame followers were employed, open ated by screws, so that by turning them in the proper direction the followers would be ad vanced or retracted to cont-rol the frictional bearing of the rollers against thebelt,andthus regulate the rapidity of descent of the person using the escape. To this class of ireescapes .my invention relates; and the object thereof is to improve the several details of construction, which will be hereinafter described, and subsequently pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view, and Fig. 2 a front elevation, of my machine; and 3 is a transverse section on line .r ar, Fig. 2.

lThe main frame A,which carries the escaping devices, may be provided with arms a a, secured near its upper end,and extending up ward and joined to a rod, af. This rod may be screw-threaded and adapted to be turned into awindow-sill, door-j amb, or other suitable sup port; or it may be provided with a hook litted to be caught over some suitable object. l also preferably pivot stay-rods to the upper en`d of the device, as indieatcd'in dotted lines, Fig. 2, so as to steady the escapein position. Bypivoting such stay-rods and arms c and rods a,the device maybe stored in a smaller space than il' such parts were rigidly jointed. Itis Obvious, however, that such attaching rods and arms might be dispensed with and the apparatus secured to its support in any of the many ways The side bars, B, or" the well known in the art.

main frame are slotted at I) from their upper ends to a point slightly below themiddle of the fra-me. These slots b are provided with grooves b', formed at right angles to the main slot, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3. rlhe journah blocks C are fitted to and movable vertically in the slots and grooves I) b'. The roller D is journaled in these blocks G, while the roller d is j ournaled in lined bearings in the framing and vertically below the roller D. The followerplate E fits between bars B, and has its end extensions, c, projectedinto slots Z1. Coil-springs F F are arranged and bear between the followcrplate and the j oui-nal blocks, thus giving theupper roller tension against the lower one, as will be understood. The said rollers are made or covered with india-rubber or other yielding material. The spring, it will be seen, gives the upper roller a @existant tension on the lower one. I have fou nd it desirable to adjust this tension to the weight of the person descending or to the rapidity with which it is desired to descend. To accomplish this I provide the set-screw G, which is turned through a threaded opening in the top plate, g, ofthe framing, and hears at its lower end against the iollowcr-plate. By turning this screw the tension may be increased or diminished at will 5 and in order to secure certainty in the adjustments vlprovide the frame witha series ol' graduations, E', with which the follower-plate registers. Thereby the degree of tension may be determined with accuracy at a glance.

It is manifest that theadiusting mechanism may be modified without departing from the broad principles ol' my invention. A lever .could be readily adjusted to operate in lieu of the screw 5 but prefer thelatter, as it is easy of operation and compact, as will be understood.

Bracket-arms H are secured to and extend outward from the framing. earings are formed in the outer ends of these brackets for IOO elastic rollers and the side bars of the frame. One end of this tape is secured to reel I, and its other end is provided with asuitable handle, K. Perforations j are formed at close inter vals through the tape to allow la circulation of air through it, and thus prevent its being too rapidly heated, as would frequently be the case with imperforate tapes.

In operation a person, by grasping handle K, may descend gradually and safely to the ground, the movable or presser roller serving as a brake to a too rapid descent. When one person has reached the ground by handle K and the tape' has all been wound from the reel I, another person above may remove/the reel from its bearings, and, grasping hand-le t, may descend in safety. A third person may now descend by grasping handle K, and so on till all are safe and out of the burning building.

Having thus described my invention,whatI clailmand desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1 In a fire-escape, the combination of the vcompressible roller journaled inXed bearings, a similar roller journaled in movable bearings, springs arranged to bear against said bearings, whereby the rollers are pressed together, and a suitable tape, substantially as set forth.

- 2. The combination of the stationary roller,

the movable roller, a follower-plate, springs arranged between the follower-plate and the bearings of the movable roller, and a set-screw turned through a threaded bearing and press ing against the follower-plate,whereby the tension of the device may be regulated and adjusted, substantially as set forth.

3. The combinatiomwithfthe stationary roller and the movable roller, of springs arranged to press against the bearings of the movable roller and force same against the stationary one, and means whereby the tension of said sp ri n gs may be varied, substantially as set forth 4. The re-escape, substantially as herein described and claimed, consisting of the main frame, the stationary roller journaled therein, the movable roller journaled in bearing-blocks held in guides in the main frame, the followerplate, the springs arranged between the followv er-plate and the bearing-blocks, the adjustingscrew, the bracket-arms extended from .the framing, the reel journaled therein, and the tape, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

MATTHEV C. CORRIGAN. v l

Witnesses:

I. L. STRONG, ROGER GAIN. 

